What hinders demining in Ukraine: four systemic challenges

After the full-scale invasion, Ukraine became the most mined country in the world, with the area of potentially dangerous territories reaching about 137 thousand km². To return these lands to the people and restore the economy, the government has developed a National Mine Action Strategy until 2033 (with the participation of the Ukrainian Deminers Association). It envisages clearing about 80% of the de-occupied territories within ten years.

However, this ambitious goal faces serious challenges, ranging from the dispersion of powers among government agencies to lack of funding and problems with tenders.

Challenge #1. Lack of a clear hierarchical system of mine action in Ukraine

De facto, mine action in Ukraine is currently divided between several government agencies – the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Economy. This multi-vector approach leads to overlapping responsibilities and a lack of clear hierarchy.

As an option, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change report proposes the creation of a Mine Action Agency – a single central body responsible for both strategic issues (including communication with donors) and operational functions (certification, quality control, monitoring of operators).

Such changes are indeed necessary, but a drastic transformation could paralyze the existing system. One of the compromise options is to transfer these powers to the existing First Aid Center, provided that the agency to which it belongs does not simultaneously carry out humanitarian demining. After all, when one entity combines control and implementation, there is a conflict of interest and a risk of monopolization, which can destroy the entire system and reduce the trust of international partners .

Challenge #2. Slow adoption of primary care standards

One of the key tactical problems in the field of mine action is the very slow adoption of national standards, which can take up to a year. During this time, some provisions lose their relevance.

Standards should be working documents that can be quickly adapted to new equipment, procedures and market needs. There is no need to wait for changes to the law or the creation of a new Agency – the issue can be resolved now at the executive level. Ukraine has specialists capable of preparing high-quality documents, but without an operational implementation mechanism, they remain only on paper.

Challenge #3. Reduction of primary health care funding

The National Mine Action Strategy, adopted in 2024, is designed for 10 years and is based mainly on data from 2023. The document provides for a gradual increase in funding to achieve the goals. However, in 2024-2025, the dynamics reversed. Assistance from the United States, one of the key donors, has been partially suspended, and funding for a number of other international programs has been reduced .

Not only demining, but also related areas, such as mine risk education and assistance to victims of explosive ordnance, have been affected. As a result, there is a gap between the declared goals and actual resources. To achieve the goals of the Strategy, funding should at least remain at the same level.

Challenge #4. Prozorro does not work for humanitarian demining

In a significant step forward, in the fall of 2024, Ukraine launched a humanitarian demining market with tenders for first aid operators. While it was too early to draw conclusions in 2024, it is now clear that the Prozorro public procurement system has proven unsuitable for this area.

The only criterion for winning a tender is the lowest price. But in humanitarian demining, savings directly affect quality and safety. Participation in tenders becomes unprofitable for operators and jeopardizes the stability of the procurement model in a critical area.

In the last month alone, 9 out of 18 tenders were canceled (50%), and the average price of the winners was more than 50% lower than expected. A price reduction of more than 30% is already considered abnormally low.

Despite the challenges, Ukraine is gradually reducing the area of hazardous areas – from 174 thousand km² at the end of 2022 to 137 thousand km² in June 2025.

Humanitarian demining is the zero phase of recovery: without it, effective recovery is impossible, from infrastructure to the agricultural sector. Therefore, humanitarian demining should remain at the center of the state's strategic attention.

If we maintain our focus and international support, we will be able to achieve the goals of the National Strategy.